Hello folks, I wanted to tell you about some shows this spring which I’m really excited about. First: on Thursday, February 18, we will be having an official CD release show for Cheerin’ Up the Universe in Boston at the historic Regattabar. I’m glad to be returning to Boston, where I have deep roots (jazz fans in Boston may remember me from the “Jazz at the Pudding” series of concerts in Harvard Square in the early ’80’s, which presented everyone from Illinois Jacquet to Archie Shepp, just a few years before the birth of the Regattabar).
For this very special show I’ll be joined by an all-star cast including Russ Gershon (reeds, flute), Freddy Bryant (guitar), Laurence Hobgood (piano), John Lockwood (bass), George Schuller (drums), and Vicente Lebron (percussion). For more information or to buy tickets, click here.
I’m also thrilled to be performing at a benefit for the American Ireland Fund at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL on February 11, where I’ll be sharing the bill with the legendary Judy Collins! More information about this show is available here.
I also have performances coming up February 20 at the Seawahnaka Corinthian Yacht Club in Oyster Bay, NY, and March 19th at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, FL. I hope to see you at some of these performances!
Finally, we’ve been getting some wonderful press attention for Cheerin’ Up the Universe, including kind mentions by C. Michael Bailey at Allaboutjazz (“a tunefest of the first order… A positive, affirming musical experience”), Ken Frankling’s Jazz Notes (“Merrill assembled a team of heavy hitters for this wide-ranging project”), Debra Jan Bibel for Amazon (“An album of smiles… sweet with trumpet work… relentless, exuberantly positive”). I’m also gratified to be included in both vocal and flugelhorn categories on Arnaldo DeSouteiro’s “Best of 2015” awards on Jazz Station.
Thank you for stopping by, and stay tuned!
—Bob Merrill